Without You
by Donner Dumott Schunard
Summary: Speedrent! Mimi, Angel, and Collins watch clouds and Mimi makes a startling revelation. MimixAngel friendship, AngelxCollins, and RogerxMimi. Hey guys, ROGER'S NOT EVIL!


1Okay. I love "Without You." It's lyrically one of the best songs in RENT. But I never seemed to feel the song belonged to Mimi/Roger. shrugs I always thought it was kinda like Mimi was talking about Angel, her friend. And I never understood why Maureen and Joanne sang it in NYTW, if I recall correctly. I guess it's just me being a fangirl.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own RENT.

**Without You**

**By Donna**

_Without You,_

_The Breeze warms,_

_The Girl smiles,_

_The clouds move_

"Look at that one!" Angel chirped, "It looks like... uhm... a dragon."

"A dragon?" Collins asked, "Oh! Lemme see!"

"See?" Angel said, pointing it out. She spun her hand around. "There's its nose... and its eye... and its tail..."

Mimi smiled, laying back. It didn't look like anything to her... in fact, none of the clouds did. They just looked like white blobs painted on the sky. Collins probably didn't see anything either, but she knew he wanted to make her happy, so he played along.

"Oh... I see it!" Collins said, pulling Mimi back into reality.

"You see it, Meems?" Angel asked, tapping her shoulder.

Mimi looked at the sky and shook her head. "No... I don't."

"Oh... well, that's okay," Angel said, "I mean, the clouds move a lot."

Mimi nodded. "Yeah... they do."

Angel leaned on Collins and asked, "How's you and Roger?"

Mimi scratched at her arm nervously. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Okay. That's it."

"I guess it's better than--" Angel was cut off by a nasty cough. She covered her mouth and coughed loudly. Collins leaned over to her and held her. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." Angel wheezed. She cleaned her lips from saliva built up from coughing. "As I was saying... it's better to be okay than fighting."

Mimi looked at her feet. "Yeah... it is... I guess..."

Angel grabbed her chin. "Mimi. Smile for me."

"Why?"

"You don't smile anymore. If anyone is hurting you... it's that fucking boss at Catscratch, isn't it? _Ah-ha!_" I'll kick his ass from here to Jersey!"

Collins cracked up. "Angel... I think he'll _run _from here to Jersey at the site of you."

"Don't worry about it!" Mimi yelled, "Seriously! I'm fine!"

"Okay. Good," Angel said, leaning back. She fell short and hit her head. "Ow!"

Collins laughed loudly, then put on a face of concern. "Holy shit, are you alright?"

"Yeah! Yeah! I'm fine!" Angel said, rubbing her head.

They looked at each other and started to crack up.

Mimi shook her head. "You're so weird..."

Angel coughed again and shrugged. "Yeah, well, look who's talking."

"Maybe we should go, Ang, your cough is getting worse," Collins suggested, wrapping his arms around her. She held his arm across her chest and nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we should."

He helped her up. "Mimi, you wanna come?"

Mimi shook her head. "No, no, I'm good."

They walked away, the only sounding being their footsteps.

Mimi looked at the trees and the ever-shifting clouds. "How the hell am I supposed to go on without her!" Mimi exclaimed, "Is this what I get for my drugs! You take away the one person that actually gave a shit about me! Fucking God! I fucking hate you!"

She threw herself on the ground dramatically. "She's getting worse! She's always getting sick... she's dying, dammit! Why? What can I do! She's my mother, dammit! My mother!"

She pulled herself together, raising herself off the ground. "I'm still here."

She pushed the hair out of her face. "I'm still here. Even though she'll be gone, I can't be."

"What's wrong, Mimi?" someone asked.

She turned her head. "Roger?"

Roger walked over. "Hey. I heard you guys were in the part... so I stopped by..."

Mimi hugged him, cutting him off. "What am I supposed to do!"

"About what, Mimi?" Roger asked.

"About Angel! What am I supposed to do without her!"

Roger shook his head. "Mimi... come on. Mimi..."

"I don't understand!"

"Mimi, you're still here. Okay? Life goes on after she dies. You're still here and no one can take that away. She'll want you to keep on surviving. The clouds move, the breeze warms, the tides change, the lungs still breathe, Mimi. Remember that."

Mimi, for some reason, smiled. He was right. It was probably the most poignant thing he ever said to her. It was a reminder that he was a songwriter. "You're right, Roger."

"Come here," Roger said, hugging her.

Mimi stayed in his warmth for a long time, smiling.

Life goes on.

And nothing can stop it.

**END**


End file.
